Venezuela denies crimes against humanity

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez assured the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday that the government of President Nicolás Maduro did not commit “crimes covered by the Rome Statute.”

Venezuela's position, according to Delcy Rodríguez, was expressed by her during a meeting with ICC prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang, who is investigating alleged crimes against humanity that have occurred since 2014.

"We addressed the case known as Venezuela I and reaffirmed that no crimes under the Rome Statute were committed in the country," he said.

"In this context, we reaffirm our willingness to continue and deepen the mechanisms of positive complementarity and joint work plans for cooperation and technical assistance, always based on the primacy of national jurisdiction," the vice president also revealed via the social network Telegram.

Rodríguez emphasized that he had highlighted to the ICC prosecutor “the responsible and professional actions of the Venezuelan security forces in defending the peace and tranquility of the Republic and in safeguarding the rights of the population.”

The vice president also said that, "in the case of the criminal blockade against Venezuela (Venezuela II)," she referred to a study published in The Lancet, which demonstrates the impact of unilateral US sanctions "on the health and lives" of Venezuelans.

"This investigation, which covered 152 countries, concluded that more than 564,000 people, disproportionately children under 5 years of age and older adults, die every year as a result of sanctions adopted by the United States government and other Western countries to promote a policy of regime change. This number is similar to the annual death rate resulting from armed conflict," he charged.

Delcy Rodríguez also stated that she drew the prosecutor's attention to the slow progress of this matter, which began more than 5 years ago as a result of a complaint filed by Venezuela.

On August 2, 2025, the International Criminal Court ordered the removal of its prosecutor, Karim Khan, from the investigation into crimes against humanity in Venezuela, due to having “reasonable grounds to believe” that there was a conflict of interest.

The decision was made by the ICC Appeals Chamber, which granted the court's chief prosecutor three weeks to withdraw from the case and claimed to reserve the right to pursue other legal avenues if circumstances so require.

The Arcadia Foundation revealed this week the conflict of interest, namely the existence of a family relationship between the suspended ICC prosecutor and a lawyer who previously represented Nicolás Maduro before the ICC, Venkateswari Alagendra.

The investigation against the Venezuelan government began in 2018, when allegations of repression during anti-government protests in 2014 were presented.

In December 2021, the ICC announced that it had decided to proceed with an investigation into the Venezuelan government for alleged human rights violations, including alleged violence against the opposition and civil society.